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Fashion | Brand Focus: Latent Goods

DJ Mag sits down with Latent Goods, the UK-based brand focused on innovation, collaboration and building the bridge between music and fashion

Sometimes, particularly in the world of brands and fashion houses, it's easy for quality to get lost in the chaos. More often than not, it's a case of poor quality materials used in workshops overseas to create overpriced garments, and the term “fast fashion” is omnipresent. As a result of that, more consumers are looking to smaller, independently-owned brands, who understand that innovation and integrity are the key to success in the world of clothes. One person who understands this vision is Ted Gibson, founder of UK brand Latent Goods. “From the first drop to the most recent, we always look to release clothes that we would wear ourselves,” Gibson says. “Since the beginning we have been investing more heavily into materials to ensure each garment has the best feel and fit, and sourcing our blanks from sustainable companies.”

Gibson launched Latent Goods in 2017 with a vision of creating high-quality street and sportswear that nodded to the '80s and ‘90s — but at an affordable price. “We were tired of buying clothes from more well-known brands, where the quality didn’t reflect the price tag,” he says. “We launched Latent with two caps, which allowed us to test the waters and learn how to run a brand.”

Five years on and Latent Goods has released dozens of those high-quality streetwear garments, from tees and bags to ¾ zips and jewellery pieces. Admitting that he still gets a “huge buzz” sending new designs to the manufacturer, Gibson says inspiration is in constant flow. “The moodboard is a place for anything aesthetically pleasing,” he says, “from the logo on the side of a van to some tiles in a Portuguese doorway. We also draw heavily on the sportswear and skatewear brands of the ‘80s and ‘90s. We spent a lot of our youth getting kicked out of places for skateboarding, so it's important for us that we carry that influence into our clothing.”

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“Latent Goods is constantly evolving, and we are always looking into ways to level up — each piece brings a new excitement and sense of anticipation"

The designs on LG’s garments are mostly created by designers James Willsher (Piiies) and Lucien Bishop: “They have been involved in the creative process since the beginning, which helps a great deal when bringing a vision to life as they fully understand the aesthetic.” Elsewhere, Gibson has collaborated as Latent Goods with grassroots festival KenFest in Surrey to raise money for local mental health charity Clockwork, and during the pandemic, teamed up with Scottish dance music collective Sub Zero on a fundraising t-shirt for the NHS Charitable Trust.

A sense of community is at the core of Latent Goods, and Gibson explains that the brand has allowed him and his team to “become involved in scenes that are of a huge importance, particularly music. Shout out Summers Sons, C.Tappin, Dr Dubplate (ec2a) and the Meltout Crew.” Latent Goods has become a favourite among other DJs and artists too, with the likes of Annie Mac, Ewan McVicar, Jasper James, Novelist and Skream repping the products. It even achieved cult status when the legendary Louis Theroux posted a photo in the brand’s Segment tee.

Looking to the future, Latent Goods are continually looking to innovate, and create more sustainable products like their recent light-weight, packable windbreaker, which was made from 100% recycled polyester rip-stop. They also created an upcycled collection for Depop, and more recently, collaborated with Merseyside’s Pickle Me Designs on reworked bags . “Latent Goods is constantly evolving, and we are always looking into ways to level up,” Gibson affirms. “Each piece brings a new excitement and sense of anticipation. Keep your eyes open for plenty of cut and sew projects, as well as a lot of artist collaborations that are in the works.”

* DJ Mag readers can enjoy 10% off at latent-goods.com with code DJMAG

Amy Fielding is DJ Mag's digital staff writer and fashion editor. Follow her on Twitter @amybfielding

Want more? Check out our recent Brand Focus with Valour House, the female-fronted company kitting out the likes of Bryson Tiller and The Martinez Brothers